1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power output apparatus, a motor vehicle equipped with the power output apparatus, and a control method of the power output apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Background Art
A known power output apparatus that outputs power to a driveshaft is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. H11-187577 and has an engine, a first motor, a second motor, a planetary gear mechanism that includes a planetary carrier linked to an output shaft of the engine, a sun gear linked to a rotor of the first motor, and a ring gear linked to a rotor of the second motor, and a battery that is charged with electric power generated by one or both of the two motors using part of an output torque of the engine. In this prior art power output apparatus, a rotating shaft of the second motor is connected to the driveshaft via a gear mechanism or another equivalent mechanism. This power output apparatus uses a preset map to specify an input limit corresponding to the measured temperature of the battery and determines an allowable charge level of the battery within the specified input limit. The map is designed to give a smaller absolute value of the input limit in a low temperature range below a predetermined temperature than the absolute value of the input limit in an ordinary temperature range.